


Family

by jacquelee



Category: The Pretender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 19:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1560746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquelee/pseuds/jacquelee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU of The Pretender, where Miss Parker is the Pretender on the run and Jarod is sent to catch her. </p>
<p>That’s basically it, I changed their backstories accordingly but didn’t do a straight swap because that felt like a cop out to me. There isn’t much plot here (and what is there I stole directly from the show – I just didn’t really adhere to the timeline much), just memories and feelings and maybe a tiny bit UST between Jarod and Miss Parker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kolamity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kolamity/gifts).



“Your father misses you.” 

Miss Parker was astounded at how Jarod managed to keep his voice sincere, even though it was obvious that he couldn’t fool her for even a second. Sometimes she wondered how much he actually still cared, how much their childhood friendship still meant to him. Enough to bring a genuine notion of sorrow into his voice but never enough to stop hunting her. 

“My father doesn’t care about anything other than the Center.” 

No, she couldn’t keep the sorrow out of her voice either. Not completely. Not with Jarod. Not when it was about her father. However much she was able to become a different person, she was sure this was the part of her that would always remain. His charade. His betrayal. The fact that she genuinely believed him, that she had been sorry for him after her mother got killed (by Center’s orders as she now knew, so in effect, by his orders). That she had wanted to participate in the sims, that she wanted to do good for him and for the Center. 

That it had all been a lie. Him saying that what she went through was for the good of others, him saying that she was special and needed to utilize her talents for the Center. That she had been isolated from the world even before her mother died and then completely afterwards. That there had never been anyone to love her. To hug her. To be there for her. Not even her own father.

She looked at the sleeping baby in the crib next to her. From the moment she had found her in the garbage, she had vowed to keep her from ending up alone. From not having people to care for her, to genuinely love her. Whatever it would take, this baby would not end up like her. She would not end up alone. 

“We both know that that is not true. He does love you.” 

Miss Parker had nearly forgotten that she was still holding the phone and Jarod’s voice brought her back from exploring the past and the future. She looked at the baby again and thought about Jarod and that sometimes, she wondered what would have happened if they had been allowed to really grow up together, if the Center hadn’t been in the picture, if Jarod hadn’t been kidnapped from his parents and turned into their agent, if she didn’t have this abilities that made them turn her into a lab rat. If they both just had normal families and could have grown up as normal friends. 

“He has a great way of showing it, sending you to chase after me for years.” 

She knew she was unfair to Jarod, that he was just as much a victim in all of this as she was. He had been promised to be reunited with his family once he brought her in and if anyone knew how much family meant, it was her. 

“He just wants the family to be back together. Would that be so bad? I know Sidney misses you too.” 

As do I. 

Jarod didn’t say it but they both knew what he meant. And she knew that he didn’t say this as a cheap shot, he said it because it was the truth. They had been a good team, and yes, she did miss them, she missed Sidney, who had been a fatherfigure for her as much as for Jarod. And she knew that Jarod didn’t condone in the slightest what the Center did, he just adapted to being pragmatic and trying to function the best he could in an unforgiving environment. 

She couldn’t fault him for that, and neither could she fault Sidney or Broots for helping Jarod chase after her, but she would never ever go back. She had seen what the Center did, and she would fight to the death against it happening to others. She would fight against any injustice, whether it was brought about by the Center or anyone else, like the sad excuse for a human being who threw the helpless baby in front of her in the garbage. 

This was what the Center was perpetuating. She needed to tell herself this sometimes because sometimes the affection she felt for Jarod and the others, and even for her father, made it hard to remain objective. So many times she had wished that it would be possible to just persuade them to come with her, to leave the Center just as she had done. But she knew it wasn’t possible. 

Especially for Jarod. The price of leaving behind the last hope of ever seeing his family again would be too much. She had tried to find something, anything about them, but even with inside contacts in the Center and even with her skills, she hadn’t been successful. 

“I miss him too. Tell him I said hi.” 

With that she hang up. She wasn’t in the mood for more and she knew that it wouldn’t lead anywhere anyways. She had called Jarod out of sentimentality, because rescuing this baby had somehow shaken something that she thought she had buried deep inside her. A longing for something more than just being on the run and helping others to achieve their happiness. A longing for something that she barely thought about because these days she barely even knew who she was, let alone what the future held for her. If she even had a future. 

The little girl stirred in her sleep. It was heartbreaking to imagine that someone would throw such a helpless little creature into the garbage. A human being, innocent and defenseless. 

Miss Parker reached out a hand and brushed the girl’s cheek lightly. Since she had rescued her, she had been nearly overwhelmed by feelings. Disturbing, distracting feelings. Cravings for a family she never really had, for someone to understand her, to see the world in the same way. To fight side by side with her to make it better. She knew that those feelings had been what had prompted her to call Jarod. 

Because even though they stood on different sides right now, even though she knew he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to turn her over to the people who had tortured her for years, he was still the only one who even slightly understood her. The only one she was able to talk to. About the world, the Center, about how it felt to be totally and utterly alone in the world. How much it hurt. 

Looking at the little girl, she vowed again that she would find her family, her place, that she would make sure nobody could hurt her ever again. 

She only wished she could do the same for herself.


End file.
